Clifford G. McIntire ’30 Room Dedicated at UMaine
Contact: Contact: Amos Orcutt, University of Maine Foundation – 581-5100; Donna Thornton, The University of Maine Alumni Association – 581-1134
Orono, Maine — Congressman Clifford G. McIntire, University of Maine Class of 1930, was honored posthumously on October 8 in a ceremony at the University’s new Buchanan Alumni House for his vision and leadership in creating national forestlands legislation. The author and co-sponsor of the McIntire-Stennis Act, passed by Congress in 1962, Congressman McIntire worked with University of Maine scientists and foresters as well as Senator John Stennis of Mississippi to write the landmark legislation. The McIntire-Stennis Act was developed to establish research in forestry as a specific part of the agricultural research programs carried out cooperatively by USDA and land-grant colleges in the United States.
Over 70 friends and family members of Congressman McIntire, including his twin, 95-year-old brother Smith McIntire, gathered in Orono on October 8 to dedicate the facility’s largest room in his name. The “McIntire Maine Event Room” was made possible through private support from several hundred contributors as well as a major gift from MBNA America. University of Maine Foundation President Amos E. Orcutt ’64 presided over the event, and Dr. Jeffery N. Mills ’82, president of the University of Maine Alumni Association and Vice President for University Advancement, made the formal dedication.
Congressman McIntire grew up in Perham shortly after the turn of the century and worked the family potato farm with his parents and siblings. He began his college career in 1926 but took a year off after his sophomore year so that his brother Smith could have his turn at UMaine. A year later, Smith took a year off for Clifford, and the two young men finally completed their degrees in 1930 and 1932.
The McIntire Maine Event Room includes a display commemorating the life and work of Congressman McIntire. Buchanan Alumni House is open 8 am to 5 pm weekdays, and the public is welcome to tour the facility.